Flexible electrical conduit.



No. 652,806. Patented lul'y 3, I900.

H. G. OSBUBN.

FLEXIBLE ELECTRICAL GONDUIT.

(Application m'ed Dec. 8, 189$.)

QNO Model.)

ry: Nnmns PETERS co. vnoro-umo, msmuumn, D c,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARRY G. OSBURN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

FLEXIBLE ELECTRICALCONDUIT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 652,806, dated July 3, 1900.

Application filed December 8,1898.: Serial lilo. 698,619. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, HARRY G. OsBURN,a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Flexible Electrical Conduits, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a flexible conduit for electrical conductors, my object being to provide a form of conduit'which while possessing the necessary rigidity and insulating properties may be readily flexed or bent laterally to accommodate itself to the conditions of use and, furthermore, to provide a conduit which can be manufactured at comparativelysmall cost.

In the preferred form of my invention the conduit is formed from an element of semiflcxible material, which is bent or coiled into helical form to produce a tube-like structure, the convolutions or turns being bound together or locked in a longitudinal direction by means of elements of pliable or flexible material interwoven or interconnected with v the successive turns or convolutions to impart longitudinal strength to the tubethat is, strength to withstand distortion under a tension or pull lengthwise of the tube. I have employed the term semiflexible with reference to the material used to indicate that property which the material should possess of being sufficiently flexible to permit of the same being bent into tube-like form, while having sufficient permanency of form to preserve the tube-like shape without undue tendconvolutionstogether Imayemploy thread,

yarn, w i r e, or any similar material lending itself to being readily interwoven with the semiflexible element. The convolutions of the helical coil form, as it were, the woof threads or elements of the fabric, while the elements of pliable material extending longitudinally constitute the warp threads or elements, the two series of elements being interwoven to form as a whole a tube-like structure or fabric possessing the necessary resistance to collapsing and the necessary longitudinal rigidity, while being readily flexed due to the relative movement permitted between the adjacent turns orconvolutions. My structure thus comprises, inefiect, a series of woofs extending circumferentially and a series of warps extending transversely thereto this combination to be well adapted for the conduits on account of the insulating proper-. w

ties of. the cane and the cotton, the cost, and the ease with which they can be handled du'rf in g manufacture. Where material, as steel ribbon, is used for the Woof, wire may be used for the warp or, preferably, cotton thread or twine, since the thread or twine passing across the inner and outerifaces of alternate convo lut-ions of the metal will'form layers of insulating material upon theinterior and exterior of the tube or conduit, while at the same time serving to effectively fasten the parts of the duits of the prior art the structure has been:

such that the covering has been relied upon to impart longitudinal strength to the tube,

IOO

and it has therefore been necessary to employ for the covering threads woven together, with one series of threads extending circumferentially and another series extending longitudinally. Due to the fact that the tubelike skeleton of my construction possesses in itself longitudinal rigidity and strength other forms of covering having little or no tensile strength may be employed--as, for instance, a braided cor ering-and the cost of the conduit may thus be materially decreased.

By the term interwoven as employed herein, is contemplated any association of the binding material with the outer and inner faces of the circumferentially-extending elementsor with the spaces between the same to impart strength to the structure in a longitudinal direction.

I have illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings, in which-=- Figure 1 is a view of a conduit embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the skeleton of the conduit. Fig. 3 is a sectional View on line 3 3, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a View showing the conduit partially cut away to expose the interior. Fig. 5 is a view of a modification.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several figures.

In the specific embodiment of my invention illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the drawings a strip a of semiflexible material is coiled into a helix and a series of threads I) Z) are interwoven therewith, the threads extending longitudinally to securely lock the successive layers or convolutions together and impart strength to the tube in a longitudinal direction. Upon the exterior of the skeleton as thus formed a covering 0 .of any suitable material is provided-.as, for instance,a woven covering, as illustrated in Fig. 1, or a braided covering 0, as illustrated in Fig. 5.

In Fig. 5 is illustrated a modification wherein two strips a a of semiflexible material are coiled together, the successive layers or turns of the two elements being interwoven with the longitudinal threads to bind the same together and complete the tube.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 3 and 4-, the threads upon the inner faces of the turns of flexible material lie quite close together and constitute, in effect, an insulating-lining for the conduit, while the threads upon the exreadily flexible and may be bent into any desired position to accommodate itself to the conditions of use.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1.- A conduit consisting of a series of circumferentially-extending elements of semiflexible material and binding material interwoven therewith, substantially as described.

2. A conduit consisting of a helix of semiflexible material and a binding material in" terwoven therewith, substantially as described.

3. A conduit consisting of a helix of semiflexible material and a flexible material interwoven therewith, substantially as de scribed.

4. A conduit consisting of a skeleton of I semiflexible material and a pliable or flexible material, as cotton, interwoven therewith, substantially as described.

5. A conduit consisting of a series of circumferential woofs of semiflexible material and a series of warps interwoven therewith, substantially as described.

6. A conduit consisting. of a helical woof of semiflexible material and a series of warps interwoven therewith, substantially as described.

7. A conduit consisting of a series of circumferentially-extending elements of semiflexible material, a binding material interwoven therewith and an outer covering or sheath, substantially as described.

8. A conduit consisting of a series of circumferentially-extending elements of semiflexible material, a binding material interwoven therewith and a braided covering inclosing the same, substantially as described.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a helical coil of material having sufficient rigidity of structure to prevent collapsing under the usual conditions of use, and binding material interwoven therewith to impart strength in a longitudinal direction to the structure, substantially as described.

10. As a new article of manufacture, atubelike structure comprising circumferentiallyextending elements of material having sufficient rigidity of structure to prevent collapsing under the usual conditions of use, and binding material interwoven therewith to impart strength in a longitudinal direction to the structure, substantially as described.

11. As a new article of manufacture, a helical coil of material having sufficient rigidity of structure to prevent collapsing under the usual conditions of use, and pliable or flexible material interwoven with the convolutions of said helical coil to impart strength to the structure in a longitudinal direction, substantially as described.

12. As a newarticle of manufacture, a flexible conduit formed of circumfcrentially-extending elements and binding material inter- In witness whereof I have hereunto subwoven therewith to impart strength to the scribed my name in the presence of two Wit structure in a longitudinal direction, the nesses.

Whole forming a tube-like structure having HARRY G. OSBURN. 5 sufficient rigidity to prevent collapsing under Witnesses:

the usual conditions of use, substantially as W. CLYDE JONES,

described. M. R. ROCHFORD. 

